‘Pretty Ambitious’: Beck’s GBTV Plan Intrigues Media

When Glenn Beck announced his new endeavor to bring a TV station to the internet, exclusively, people took notice. And while there were those who asked, How could that work?, there were others who realized it is truly a groundbreaking endeavor. In fact, some in the media are intrigued and excited about what it could mean for the future of television (or, webevision?)

Regarding the launch of the network, which took place via an hour-long web show Wednesday, Business Insider called it "impressive" while adding:

What's clear is that Beck's team has no real interest in producing a web show; they fully intend to turn-out a high quality television show that just happens to air on the web.

It's a strategy that has a resulted in a lot of speculation and skepticism from media types (and presumably the attention of a LOT of media execs) but which in the viewing feels like far less of a stretch -- watching TV online isn't exactly a new thing, in fact it'd be interesting to know how many people actually see the Daily Show during its airtime vs. next day clip viewing.

The site Gigaom.com says one's politics shouldn't factor into what he thinks of the idea:

Think what you will about Glenn Beck’s politics, you have to admit his newest venture is pretty ambitious: Beck is launching a subscription-only online TV network this week. GBTV, as the venture is called, promises “a mix of news, information and entertainment programs,” but its biggest attraction is undoubtedly a daily two-hour talk show hosted by Beck himself.

[...]

Subscribers will be able to watch the show online starting Sept. 12, and also access it through an iOS app as well as a Roku channel. The latter could be a boon for Roku, introducing the device to new audiences and helping it on its way to reach its next milestone of three million sold devices by the end of this year.

In one article, Mediate says the plan is "revolutionary:"

If Beck really is making a TV network that is separate from the cable company system (and, seriously, the difference between computer and television is going to be nothing more than screen-size soon), then this new venture may actually be as forward-thinking and revolutionary as all the marketing talk makes it sound.

Later, in a follow-up piece, the author writes:

...I’ve believed for a while that the idea of people subscribing to the content they like directly from the providers and not having to pay for packages from the likes of cable company middle men is the direction we’re heading in so, I stand by those proclamations.

Those who want to see what all the excitement is about can watch the hour-long launch below: